You raise some good points but this isn't one of them. Dehumanizing police is NOT how we build an effective police force.
Instead of grappling with the issue of their safety, you say "fuck you, you just shouldn't care if you die." What kind of police do you attract with a policy like that? People who have nothing to live for, that's who. And those are the people you LEAST want policing, because they probably don't give a rip if they go to jail.
Policing in America is fundamentally different than in nearly all other parts of the world simply due to the pervasiveness of firearms. That's a reality we all have to contend with, like it or not.
I disagree with the original phrasing, but not necessarily the point being made. A cops job isn't to "get home safe", but rather to make sure everyone gets home safe. If in trying to make sure everyone gets home safe, they reduce the chance they do... well that's the job. It's not for everyone, and there's no shame in it not being for you (there's a reason I'm not a surgeon or physiologist, despite those being actual careers I considered), but if it's not something someone is capable of, we shouldn't be putting them in that position.
Way back in my first year of college as I was getting ready to leave for class I saw a guy in my bushes. Needless to say I hesitated leaving, then I noticed a cop car up the street. I called 911 and told them about the guy hiding from them, and put the dogs in the back yard. A few minutes later, they chased him away from the gate and he started messing with the front door. I went out the back, hopped the fence and headed for the cops through my neighbors side yard, where I was met by one of them. He was naturally suspicious (remember he's just received reports of a guy in the bushes) but after explaining that I was the one who called (and I think showing him my ID that I lived there) we went to look for his partner. At no time did he so much as reach for his gun. We found his partner at the end of the driveway, she had seen him hide behind me car, and he had been ignoring her instructions to come out, so she was waiting for her partner. With him there she proceeded to walk behind and car and bring him out. She was maybe 5'2 and 120 pounds I'd put this guy at 6'. Obviously she had no way of knowing if he was armed, he could easily have had a gun in his cargo pants. Despite that, she too never drew her gun. Just walked back there, told him to turn around, and put the cuffs on him.
To be fair I was mostly mocking the line because the implication is that they should shirk their civil duty in the interest of their own safety. Unfortunately, their job is to be unsafe so we don't have to. I can understand how you interpreted that way because the thick layer of sarcasm doesn't translate well through text.
I didn't really mean "fuck you I dont care that you die" just that there is a high probability of your untimely demise as a result of your position. If you want respect commensurate to this duty then you should honor that duty. "Just trying to get home safe" is what OSHA is for. Not the police.
Comments
You raise some good points but this isn't one of them. Dehumanizing police is NOT how we build an effective police force.
Instead of grappling with the issue of their safety, you say "fuck you, you just shouldn't care if you die." What kind of police do you attract with a policy like that? People who have nothing to live for, that's who. And those are the people you LEAST want policing, because they probably don't give a rip if they go to jail.
Policing in America is fundamentally different than in nearly all other parts of the world simply due to the pervasiveness of firearms. That's a reality we all have to contend with, like it or not.
I disagree with the original phrasing, but not necessarily the point being made. A cops job isn't to "get home safe", but rather to make sure everyone gets home safe. If in trying to make sure everyone gets home safe, they reduce the chance they do... well that's the job. It's not for everyone, and there's no shame in it not being for you (there's a reason I'm not a surgeon or physiologist, despite those being actual careers I considered), but if it's not something someone is capable of, we shouldn't be putting them in that position.
Way back in my first year of college as I was getting ready to leave for class I saw a guy in my bushes. Needless to say I hesitated leaving, then I noticed a cop car up the street. I called 911 and told them about the guy hiding from them, and put the dogs in the back yard. A few minutes later, they chased him away from the gate and he started messing with the front door. I went out the back, hopped the fence and headed for the cops through my neighbors side yard, where I was met by one of them. He was naturally suspicious (remember he's just received reports of a guy in the bushes) but after explaining that I was the one who called (and I think showing him my ID that I lived there) we went to look for his partner. At no time did he so much as reach for his gun. We found his partner at the end of the driveway, she had seen him hide behind me car, and he had been ignoring her instructions to come out, so she was waiting for her partner. With him there she proceeded to walk behind and car and bring him out. She was maybe 5'2 and 120 pounds I'd put this guy at 6'. Obviously she had no way of knowing if he was armed, he could easily have had a gun in his cargo pants. Despite that, she too never drew her gun. Just walked back there, told him to turn around, and put the cuffs on him.
This is what I expect from police.
To be fair I was mostly mocking the line because the implication is that they should shirk their civil duty in the interest of their own safety. Unfortunately, their job is to be unsafe so we don't have to. I can understand how you interpreted that way because the thick layer of sarcasm doesn't translate well through text.
I didn't really mean "fuck you I dont care that you die" just that there is a high probability of your untimely demise as a result of your position. If you want respect commensurate to this duty then you should honor that duty. "Just trying to get home safe" is what OSHA is for. Not the police.